TV Restaurants

What Happened to Big Dog Saloon After Bar Rescue? (Mt Dora, FL)

Closed verified

As of September 2026, Big Dog Saloon has closed — confirmed via Yelp, August 2026.

Primary source
Yelp ·
Secondary source
barrescueupdates.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: A Yelp listing updated August 2026 marks Big Dog Saloon permanently closed, and the business's website did not resolve at all on the 2026-09-08 check, even though Bar Rescue Updates (2026-04-25) had reported a reopening under new ownership in April 2026.

  • Season / episode Season 10, Episode 11
  • Original air date
  • Address 4060 County Rd 19A, Mt Dora, FL 32757

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What happened after Bar Rescue?

Big Dog Saloon opened in Mount Dora, Florida, in 2019, co-owned by Don Johnson and Paulette Monaco, whom Johnson had brought in with a one-third ownership stake to help run the bar. After Johnson died, Monaco was left to manage the business alone. By the time Bar Rescue's "Hair of the Big Dog" aired on 2026-04-26, the bar had deteriorated: Bar Rescue Updates (2026-04-25) reported that Jon Taffer's recon found the space infested with fruit flies and the kitchen serving only frozen pizza and popcorn.

Bar Rescue Updates reported that the bar closed in December 2025, after filming but before the episode aired, when a developer took control of the property; the outlet noted the bar held a closing party on December 6, 2025. The same update reported that the saloon reopened in early April 2026 under new owners, who also operate Botanico Tacos & Tequila across the street, keeping the Big Dog Saloon name and the post-rescue concept. Bar Rescue Updates had reported that Taffer's team moved the kitchen away from its all-frozen offerings toward scratch-made bar food during the original makeover, though available reporting does not say whether the new owners kept that menu. Mount Dora sits in Lake County, Florida, northwest of Orlando.

That reopening does not appear to have held. A Yelp listing for Big Dog Saloon, updated August 2026, marks the business permanently closed. On the 2026-09-08 check, the business's website, bigdogmtdora.com, did not resolve at all, returning no response rather than an error page. Google Places still lists the business as operational at 4060 County Road 19A, but no source more recent than the April 2026 reopening report confirms that status, and the more recent Yelp listing and the unreachable website both point the other way. No secondary confirmation of the April reopening, beyond the single Bar Rescue Updates post, was found in the available reporting.

Featured on Bar Rescue

Season / episode
Season 10, Episode 11
Original air date
Episode title
Hair of the Big Dog
What was featured
A grieving co-owner's fly-infested bar serving only frozen food
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Big Dog Saloon

Frequently asked questions

Is Big Dog Saloon still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Big Dog Saloon has closed — confirmed via Yelp, August 2026.

What happened to Big Dog Saloon after Bar Rescue?

Big Dog Saloon opened in Mount Dora, Florida, in 2019, co-owned by Don Johnson and Paulette Monaco, whom Johnson had brought in with a one-third ownership stake to help run the bar. As of September 2026, Big Dog Saloon has closed — confirmed via Yelp, August 2026.

Is Big Dog Saloon permanently closed?

As of September 2026, Big Dog Saloon has closed — confirmed via Yelp, August 2026. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.

Where is Big Dog Saloon located?

4060 County Rd 19A, Mt Dora, FL 32757. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Bar Rescue featured Big Dog Saloon?

Season 10, Episode 11 of Bar Rescue, first aired April 26, 2026. The episode is titled “Hair of the Big Dog”.

Did the makeover last at Big Dog Saloon?

The episode first aired April 26, 2026. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026: As of September 2026, Big Dog Saloon has closed — confirmed via Yelp, August 2026.

Is Big Dog Saloon still using the Bar Rescue menu or branding?

Bar Rescue Updates had reported that Taffer's team moved the kitchen away from its all-frozen offerings toward scratch-made bar food during the original makeover, though available reporting does not say whether the new owners kept that menu. Anything newer than our last check on September 7, 2026 may not be reflected here.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
4060 County Rd 19A, Mt Dora, FL 32757
Venue type
bar
Official website
bigdogmtdora.com

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